Monday, 8 June 2015

Fit Dad Cooking A Tasty Tale - Mark Campanale

This is the second book published by Mark and to be honest with each book I have a great desire for more output from this author. He is a man who has transformed his life and now has a passion for helping others to make changes themselves. This cookbook will wet you appetite, give you some great jumping off points and serve as a reminder that healthy nutritious food can be amazing to prepare and share.

The layout and design of this book is amazing. I will be honest the first thing I do when I look at a cookbook is flip through the pages and see what photo’s catch my eye, with this one almost every page did and I stopped flipping and started reading pretty quickly. One of the greatest strengths of this books is Mark’s friendly style, he encourages experimentation, and he states “Have fun with the recipes and by all means, make them your own.” For me recipes have always been a starting point, Mark not only encourages that he offers a number of variations or options for modifying on almost every recipe. In fact my only criticism of the book is that Marc said there are no desserts because he does not bake. But I would love to see what he could come up with non-baked desserts, homemade sorbet, fruit or veggie desserts that surprise and amaze. I am sure he could impress himself and us if he gave it a try.

The contents in this amazing book are:

Foreword by Sydney
Intro: Abs Are Made In the Kitchen
Chapter 1: Life Lessons from a 9-Year-Old
Chapter 2: Recipes
Chapter 3: Breakfast

An Example in Falling Up:

~ Sweet Potato & Blueberry Pancakes? Bites? Happy Accidents

Chapter 4: Apps and Sides

Baba Ganoush

Lobster Salad Lettuce Wraps

White Eggplant & Spinach Saute

Cheesy Garlic Cauliflower Mash

Cauliflower Pizza Muffins

Apple and Sweet Potato Egg Rolls

Chapter 5: Big Salads

Healthy Taco Salad

Christmas Kale and Pomegranate Salad

Chapter 6: Main Dishes

Bison Stuffed Cabbage

Bostolini

Cayenne Chicken with Avocado and Red Onion Salsa

Turkey Breast Stuffed with Apple, Cranberry and Oats

Interlude: Make it Your Own!

Coffee Rubbed Game

Cauliflower Pizza Dough

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (AKA The Kick Back)

Slap Yo’ Mama Shrimp & Zucchini Pasta

Lamb & Bison Burgers with Portobello Mushrooms

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Love

Love Sick Carnitas with Sufferin’ Succotash

BONUS: A Complete Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner

Outtro: Blank Slate

This is an incredible cook book. Not just because it has great recipes that you can copy verbatim. But because it is a guide to cooking. It will be a starting point to help you become a great cook through trial and error. And like some example in the book sometimes mistakes create something completely unexpected that becomes awesome in its own right; see the example of falling up! So get the book, read it and get experimenting in the kitchen and pretty soon you too can be healthier, wiser and enjoying your time in the kitchen!